Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season has not disappointed and the action continues as we look to find the NFL Best Bets for Sunday Night Football.

Fantasy Alarm has certainly beefed up its betting coverage of the NFL so if you’re looking for NFL predictions for Rams vs. Lions, keep reading as we have plenty to share. We’ll make our NFL picks against the spread, we’ll five into the game total and if you’re looking for NFL props, we’ve got that too. Let’s get it!

 

 

 

NFL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets for Sunday Night Football, 9/8

The Lions and Rams, at least here in the modern era, will always be linked by the trade that sent Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles in exchange for Jared Goff and a handful of draft picks. Stafford went on to win the Super Bowl while Goff has been a major part of the Lions rebuild. They squared off last year in the first round of the playoffs where Detroit got the better of them and escaped with a 24-23 victory. Will the Lions be able to pull it off again or does Rams head coach Sean McVay have something up his sleeve? Let’s dive in.

 

 

 

Sunday Night Football Prediction: Sunday, September 8th 

These two NFC contenders have very different coaches with very different styles of play. The Lions are led by Dan Campbell who is a throwback to a time when smashmouth, in-your-face football dominated and his preference is to pound his opponents with a heavy ground attack which will then open up the passing work downfield. McVay, on the other hand, is the poster child for modern-day football as his version of the West Coast offense is routinely copied by every assistant who worked with him and landed a job elsewhere. He likes the short, high-percentage passing but prefers the pass to set up the run. It’s brute force versus finesse.

You can expect a heavy dose of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs to open things up for the Lions. We’ve heard that Campbell wants to open things up more for Gibbs in the passing game, but as he’s said before, he loves the 1-2 punch and will hammer Montgomery up the middle while getting Gibbs in there to handle the outside-zone. Ground and pound.

The Lions will obviously include featured wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to help move the chains as well. St. Brown is incredibly versatile and can handle both the underneath work and the intermediate routes. Getting him the ball in space is going to be important and yards after the catch will start to pile up. Tight end Sam LaPorta will also be a huge piece to this puzzle so expect his highlighted work from last season to continue.

We’ve also heard the Lions are expanding the route tree for third-year wide receiver Jameson Williams. Campbell has been adamant about a methodical development for the 23-year-old and this year could be a breakout campaign. He’ll handle a lot of the field-stretching still with Kalif Raymond out there in three-receiver sets, but look for more work across the middle for Williams. The Rams defensive backs are certainly going to have their hands full and it should be interesting to see how this L.A. pass-rush handles life with Aaron Donald.

On the other side, the Rams have two elite receiving weapons in a now-healthy Cooper Kupp and last season’s darling Puka Nacua. Having the two of them running around the secondary is going to be a tough task for the Lions defense to handle and we expect Staffor to be looking for each of his receivers early and often. Splash in some Demarcus Robinson and possibly even Jordan Whittington and this could be a free-for-all.

But the Rams also have some serious weapons in the backfield. The big knock on Kyren Williams has been his overall health, but when he’s playing, McVay is not shy about using him. Last season, Williams recorded 20 or more carries in seven of his 13 games and cleared 100 yards rushing six times. He saw some decent work in the passing game down the stretch, but only an average of four-to-five targets per game. Again, McVay likes to use the pass to set up the run so if there is a lead for Los Angeles, expect Williams to start toting the rock a little more.

Overall, the 52.5-point game total should tell you what you need to know. We’ve got two highly-potent offenses and many who are making NFL predictions are calling for a track meet. Do we? Perhaps. Our NFL picks against the spread and game total are below.

 

 

 

Rams vs. Lions Best Bet: Sunday, September 8th 

The Rams and Lions have faced each other twice since the trade of quarterbacks with Stafford and company taking the first game in 2021 by a score of 28-19. Last year in the playoffs, it was a much closer affair with the Lions winning 24-23 in the playoffs. This game opened at Lions -3.5 but had jumped to -5 with news of the Rams cornerback injuries. 

The pass-rush for Los Angeles is also a big concern and with Detroit’s rushing attack, the defensive line is going to get hit hard. While we never want to undersell a Sean McVay-led team, we like the fact that Detroit is building something special here – OC Ben Johnson turned down a number of jobs to stay in Detroit this past offseason – and they are 16-5 against the spread over their last 21 games. Jared Goff plays better at home than he does on the road and he’s got all of his weapons available. 

Pick: Lions -4.5 (-110 on BetMGM Sportsbook)

The 52.5-game total has everyone salivating over a high-flying, high-scoring affair. The Rams defense is dealing with a variety of injuries in the secondary, their defensive line isn’t what it used to be and they are going to have trouble containing this Lions offense. 

The key to this game total though is what we can expect from the Lions defense against two of the most explosive wide receivers in the game. They are likely to miss safety Ifeatu Melifonwu and it does sound like defensive lineman DJ Reader could miss the game or at least be limited. And when their backs are to the wall, Staford and his weapons are going to pull out all the stops.

Pick: Over 52.5 (-110 on BetMGM Sportsbook)

 

 

 

Best NFL Player Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 9/8

  • David Montgomery over 12.5 rushing attempts (-120 on BetMGM Sportsbook)
  • Cooper Kupp over 5.5 receptions made (-150 on BetMGM Spotsbook)
  • Jake Bates under 7.5 kicking points (-125 on BetMGM Sportsbook)

 

 

 

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What an action-packed Sunday of games, wasn’t it? Everyone was out there making their NFL picks for each game and now we can run out our NFL predictions for Sunday night. If you want to jump into the action and make your NFL best bets for Sunday Night Football, then head over to BetMGM Sportsbook and use this link to sign up with promo code ALARM and get your featured bonus

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